Six Principles of Effective e-Learning: What Works and Why

The redundancy principle: explaining
graphics with audio and redundant
text can hurt learning.

Some e-Lessons provide words in text and in audio
that reads the text. This might seem like a good way
to present information in several formats and thus
improve learning. Controlled research however, indicates
that learning is actually depressed when a
graphic is explained by a combination of text and
narration that reads the text.

The research

In studies conducted by Mayer and by others, researchers
have found that better transfer learning is
realized when graphics are explained by audio alone
rather than by audio and text. Mayer found similar
results in two studies for an average gain of 79%.

There are exceptions to the redundancy principle
as recently reported by Roxana Moreno and Mayer. In
a comparison of a scientific explanation presented
with narration alone and with narration and text, learning
was significantly better in conditions that included
both narration and text.

The researchers conclude that, “An effective technique
to promote broader learning with multimedia
explanations is to use the auditory and visual modalities
simultaneously for verbal information if no other
visual material is presented concurrently.” Therefore
there will be limited situations in which narration of onscreen
text could be helpful to learning such as when
there is no graphic on the screen or when readers
lack good reading skills.

The psychology

As illustrated in Figure 5, overload of the visual and
auditory components of working memory occurs if an
on-screen graphic is explained by both text (which
enters the visual center) and narration. However if
there is no on-screen visual, then overload would not
result and because dual codes would be provided,
learning would be increased.

Figure 5 Presenting words in text and audio can overload working memory in presence of graphics.

The application

In general, it’s advisable to avoid narration of text
when there is a demanding visual illustration on the
screen. This is especially important when working
memory is subject to overload such as during an animation
in which learners have limited control over the
pacing, or during the presentation of complex new
information. In contrast, when there is no graphic
information on the screen, then research to date
would suggest that presenting words in text and auditory
format would benefit learning.

The coherence principle: using gratuitous
visuals, text, and sounds can hurt
learning.

It’s common knowledge that e-Learning attrition
can be a problem. In well-intended efforts to spice up
e-Learning, some designers use what I call a Las
Vegas approach. By that I mean they add glitz and
games to make the experience more engaging. The
glitz can take a variety of forms such as dramatic
vignettes (in video or text) inserted to add interest,
background music to add appeal, or popular movie
characters or themes to add entertainment value.

As an example, consider a storyboard for a course
on using statistical quality control techniques to improve
quality, shown in Figure 6. To add
interest, several stories about the costs of product
recalls were added. But how do these additions affect
learning?

Figure 6 A seductive detail from a
quality lesson. From Clark
and Mayer, 2002.

The research

In the 1980’s research on details presented in text
that were related to a lesson explanation but were
extraneous in nature found them to depress learning.
Such additions were called “seductive details.” In
more recent research, Mayer has found similar negative
effects from seductive details presented either via
text or video. For example, in the lesson on lightning
formation, short descriptions of the vulnerability of
golfers to lightning strikes and the effect of lightning
strikes on airplanes were added to the lesson.

In six of six experiments, learners who studied from
the base lesson showed much greater learning than
those who studied from the enhanced versions. The
average gain was 105%. Similar effects were seen in
a comparison of lessons that included background
music and environmental sounds with base lessons
that did not add extra auditory material.

Finally, a third series of experiments compared an
expanded explanation that used 500 words and several
captioned illustrations with a lesson that used
only the illustrations and their captions. Students who
received the summary version — just the visuals and
their captions — actually achieved 69% more learning.

The psychology

Mayer did several studies together with S. F. Harp
to determine why seductive details depress learning.
In these experiments they evaluated the hypotheses
that these added materials did their damage by:

Distracting learners from key instructional points,

Disrupting the learner’s organization of information
into a coherent mental model, or

Activating irrelevant prior knowledge.

They created three versions of lessons that included
seductive details but that also added instructional
methods that should compensate for their damaging
effects. Only one of their compensatory treatments
reduced the negative effects of the seductive details.
Seductive details placed at the beginning of a lesson
were more damaging than the same information
placed at the end of the lesson.

Therefore, they concluded that these details activate
inappropriate prior knowledge. Since learning
takes place by the integration of new information into
existing knowledge in long-term memory, stimulating
inappropriate prior knowledge would have a damaging
effect.

The application

The coherence principle essentially tells us that
“less is more” when learning is the primary goal. It
suggests that visuals or text that is not essential to
the instructional explanation be avoided. It suggests
that you not add music to instructional segments. It
also suggests that lean text that gets to the point is
better than lengthy elaborated text.

As designers we need to make a distinction between
entertainment and learning. This is not to say
that an effective e-Learning course is not interesting.
Mayer reminds us of prior distinctions between cognitive
interest and emotional interest. Cognitive interest
stems from materials that promote understanding of
the content presented — in other words from materials
that optimize learning. Emotional interest comes from
the addition of extraneous materials which have been
shown to depress learning. Our goal should be to
promote cognitive interest and avoid emotional interest
in situations that require cognitive learning processes.

The personalization principle: Use
conversational tone and pedagogical
agents to increase learning.

A series of interesting experiments summarized by
Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass in their book, TheMedia Equation, showed that people responded to
computers following social conventions that apply
when responding to other people. For example,
Reeves and Nass found that when evaluating a computer
program on the same computer that presented
the program, the ratings were higher than if the evaluation
was made on a different computer. People were
unconsciously avoiding giving negative evaluations
directly to the source.

Of course individuals know that the computer is
not a person. However, deeply ingrained conventions
of social interaction tend to exert themselves unconsciously
in human-computer interactions. These findings prompted a series of experiments that show that
learning is better when the learner is socially engaged
in a lesson either via conversational language or by an
informal learning agent.

The research

Based on the work of Reeves and Nass, Mayer
and others have established that learning programs
that engage the learner directly by using first and second
person language yield better learning than the
same programs that use more formal language. Likewise
a number of studies have shown that adding a
learning agent — a character who offers instructional
advice — can also improve learning.

While some computer scientists are working to
make agents very realistic, a series of studies using
Herman the Bug (see Figure 7) as an agent found
that:

The appearance of the agent made little difference
— a cartoon or human worked just as well.

Learning was better when the agent’s words
were presented in audio rather than in text and in
a conversational style rather than in a formal
style — congruent with the modality and personalization
principles.

The agent did not even need to be visible on the
screen — the voice alone was sufficient to promote
better learning.

Figure 7 Herman the Bug is a
pedagogical agent. From
Clark and Mayer, 2002.

The psychology

Learning is based on an engagement of the learner
with the content of the instruction. Even though learners
know that computers are inanimate, the use of
conversational language either directly in the program
or via an agent seems to stimulate very ingrained
unconscious social conventions that lead to deeper
learning.

When you are in a conversation with someone you
are expected to listen and respond in a meaningful
way. This requires you to invest attention in what the
person is saying, to process it and to generate a
meaningful response. A similar model seems to apply
when learners see the e-Learning as an engagement
with a social partner — even an inanimate one.

The application

When you write the script for your e-Lessons, use
first and second person constructions, but don’t over
do it. For example, dialog such as, “Hey Dude — Are
you ready for some exciting information on quality
control tools?” is incongruent and more distracting
than helpful. The research on pedagogical agents is
quite new so applications are still a bit tentative.
First, it seems that you don’t need to invest a lot of
effort in the physical representation of the agent. Second,
you need to consider the role of the agent. To
be useful the agent needs to serve an instructionally
valid role — not just appear as an on-screen character.

One example I liked is shown in Figure 8. In this
program designed to teach reading comprehension at
a fourth to sixth grade level, the agent Jim is introduced
and appears throughout the program to show
readers comprehension strategies that have worked
for him.

Conclusion

So there you have it. These six media element principles
should give you the basics since all e-Learning
programs must rely on some combination of graphics,
text, and audio to deliver their content. Perhaps now
that you better understand the research that has been
done, the psychological foundations of why the principles
work and have seen some examples of how the
principles are applied you will feel more confident in
using them yourself.

References

Clark, R.C. and Mayer, R.E. (2002).
E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven
Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of
Multimedia Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Pfeiffer.

there are many online colleges and universities that are offering degrees in all subjects and the trend of e-learning has taken a prominent increase as it has helped many students and teachers to learn new things and get maximum exposure out of it so that they can have opportunities in the future. http://www.universaldegrees.com/degree/buy-degree.asp

If you’re a manager or supervisor in a small-to-medium size business, you already know there’s never enough time for you
to tackle every challenge you face. For example, how can you build a training program that is current, complete, effective,
and affordable? Here’s a simple four-step process that starts with an “invisible” resource that you already have.

In November 2014, Certification Game held a hackathon with the intent of finding the best course design methodology for
immersive and gamified eLearning. Participants came up with some very intelligent ideas that became pillars of the design
that the development team was able to implement in their first course. Here’s the story.

As we break away from discrete training efforts and move toward joining formal-personal and social-informal learning
together in one continuous, systematic program, what are the steps and practices that will make that process smoother?
How can we help people learn to function at a high level without the need for formal training? Here’s a thought-provoking
look at some answers.